After seeing haljeezy's and gcw360's modifications to their MKIV's I decided to combine the 2 and do the full Springfield Armory 1911 MC Operator. The only thing I haven't done yet is take it apart to remove and polish the trigger.
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Function was the most important thing.

So when I received the parts needed to do this modification from the pro shop today, I was excited and I began the task.
I came across a serious issue though. I was sad to see that the recoil spring that was in my MKIV did not fit into the recoil spring cap that is used on the MKI and MKII.

Now before anyone says anything. The recoil spring is the same part number for every PTP. You can see this in the diagrams that are posted on the pro shop. It is part# 70.

So back to the dilemma... Why doesn't it fit? It doesn't make any sense. I see plenty of take down videos and you can plainly see how the recoil spring cap just slides on and off the spring easily...

My spring though will not go in at all. I'd have to twist it and jam it in there... Neither will the spring for my MKIII. its' just to large of an outer diameter.

This causes the slide to continue to cycle even after the last BB is fired. The slide will not lock back. because the spring guide and recoil spring get jammed up and will not move freely into the recoil cap.

So why is this? Are the newer springs thinner in that regard? I just don't get it. If I had known this was going to be an issue.. Well I would have ordered a spring too.. and asked they check that it slides into the guide easily.

This mod should have come off without a hitch at all. Obviously I need to call the pro shop on Monday because this makes no sense at all to me that the same part number shown... will not fit into the recoil spring cap that the pro shop sent me.

Thanks for reading... If anyone has some other solution, I would be glad to check into it. I don't want to spend any more on this though as it is complete... Well almost. I don't want to bore out the recoil spring cap either.

tough to say exactly what you need to file down, but if you need the spring to glide through the cap, you could do one of two things,

If its metal (im not sure the blow up guide does not specify)- stripping the paint off usually gives me the extra fraction of a mm i need to get something sliding smooth, this can be done with any paint stripper, i find that citri-strip works well though, no harsh smell, and its not very corosive so you dont have to worry about damaging anything.

if its plastic- you could take a piece of sand paper, roll it up tight enough, and push it through the cap a few times, just enough to give that slide, making sure you dont take off to much so that you dont make anything too out of spec.

Hopefully after doing which ever one of these apply's to you, the spring should slide in nicly, if it doesnt let me know. il go back to the drawing board.

Here's the GOOD NEWS! - Through my conversations with Scott and then Veronica we were able to discern that the recoil spring for the MK I and the MK II are NOT the same part number as the recoil springs for MK III and MK IV as they've been listed. . On each diagram for every MK series pistol it is listed as PART # 70

So this is something that was able to be rectified for everyone. Yeah!

KWA is sending me the appropriate spring for my modification. The pistol has been completely dismantled and is now receiving a new OD paint job as of this writing. Once the part arrives, I will assemble it and take some new pictures.

I can't figure out how to put it back together... There was just too much going on today and I lost track of it all. Also the paint job was not as good as I hoped and pins and stuff just kept coming out of it. Reason the MK IV needed painting is because I scratched and scuffed it up pretty badly somehow.

So I've bagged the parts I that won't use as replacements any time soon.

With that, plus being that it is a Hong Kong model to which I will never get any support. I've opted to gut it for parts.

I have ordered a new MK IV from Airsoft GI. I will be able to work from that one and keep track. Plus it will be new production run.

Anyone know if the Mark II recoil spring guide (199-0112-42}, plug (199-0112-4) and rear sight (199-0112-14) are available as parts? I'd like my Mark I to be more like my real M1911 by eliminating the full length recoil spring guide and the stupid Kimber profile rear sight.

It already looks just like it did in the OP above... This is a brand new, Not barely on the shelf a day, fresh from the factory MKIV. It is again another HK model and not a US model. It fired 353 right out of the box. It works perfectly and I dare say I do notice some definite differences in some of the manufacturing. It's as if some quality control or new processes have been implemented because this HK MKIV is way nicer than my US MKIII

Now one thing I want to do is put my polished trigger in it. But I don't dare take this apart again without the backing of some experts.

Can I get GCW360 and haljeezy to comment, post pics (possibly) etc. Basically, if I don't have to take certain parts out I'll be happier. So please chime in and let me know the best way to approach this.

I've got the polished trigger from my original MKIV sitting here ready to go. I just need some guidance.